The following was posted on the supercollider-dev mailing list today.
James

SC-users wrote:

dear all,

i got this email a few days ago,
it's off topic, but thought it relevant enough to mention here..

i encourage you all to send good letters in support of this important
electro-instrumental development center in Amsterdam, which may loose its funding
because of claims that it "only appeals to a niche audience".

please follow the guidelines mentioned below:

---------------------------------------------------------------

Things are not well at STEIM. We are in the danger of losing our structural funding from the government, based on a review from the advisor board which called us "closed and only appealing to a niche audience". The outlook isn't exactly bleak, but at the moment our future is unclear.

As we see you as an important friend and colleague of STEIM, we would like to ask you to help us present our case that we are connected to a diverse network of professionals and that our work has significant influence on both a Dutch and an international community.

What you can do is to send a letter of support, and make sure we recieve it by May 26. We hope that these letters will show the variety and depth of the effect STEIM has in the real world. The contents are up to you, a few good lines will suffice. You could tell how you or someone you know benefited from their contact with STEIM: making or refining an instrument or an idea for a performance or meeting fellow artists, or what you feel would be lost if STEIM ceased to exist, or waxing aphoristic, just 12 words about STEIM.

Also include some specific details of your context: as an artist or educator or musician or code hacker - so your place in the world will be visible for the committee. A letterhead with your organization or institution and your position or title above your signature are small things that can leave an impression.

As for how to reply, time is of the essence so email is the preferred option. If you have time to scan a printed letter that's great but we can print emails or faxes as well.
Unfortunately we have only a short period for our response, so we would like to receive your letter by May 26. You can address the letter to the Council for Culture.

I am not familiar with STEIM, but I sent them a nice letter of concern anyway:

Code:

To Whom it May Concern,

Although I am new to the music community, I speak from a somewhat unique perspective. You see, I have spent my 41 years involved in technical work, technical hobbies, and technical endeavors. I always tried to share these things with friends and relatives, but the communication gap was simply too large. Then eight months ago I discovered electronic music and organizations like STEIM! Since then, i have become an electronic music fanatic, participating in many ways, and finally people understand me!

What is better is that now I have a way to express my feelings by leveraging my technological background in creating new music. I have already made a contribution to the field by discovering and revitalizing a thing called "Boolean Sequencing", and I am pleased to mention that I am making a Human Interface Device that will tell my computer the exact orientation (angle) and position (X, Y, Z) of my new guitar, enabling me to do all sorts of software effects on the guitar sound under dynamic control. These are the types of advancements that are possible when organizations like STEIM bring together the electronic music community and provide a focal point for creative and inventive people like myself who would otherwise not know the joys of music.

So I represent yet another category of the diverse community of electronic musicians that STEIM and similar organizations support: the engineer-turned-musician who has gained new perspective, new appreciation for the beauty of music in all its forms, and simply new joy in his life. So you see, the appeal of STEIM is to a broader audience than you might suppose.

Regards,

etc.

What can you tell me about STEIM? The dark double-orange color of the web site sure looks weird, but then some of the front page text looks really interesting. What is STEIM all about?_________________"Let's make noise for peace." - Kijjaz

Mainly developing new instruments and interfaces for instruments. Mostly on a one-off basis working with individual artists.

Very nice people though I have to admit that saying they are "niche" isn't entirely without merit... Still, they are niche in a way that's a one of a kind in the world (as far as I know) so from that perspective funding might still make sense._________________Kassen

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